50 Points of Situational Awareness

Every day, where ever you are, situational awareness is a vital part of your safety and security.  Here are a range of questions that can help you improve your situational awareness:

1. What is the current weather/weather forecast?
2. What are natural disasters common to the area?
3. What types of businesses are in the local area?
4. What are the demographics of the area?
5. What are ingress/egress options in the area?
6. What are possible man-made disasters that could happen in the area?
7. What types of safety equipment is located in the area (fire extinguisher, fire alarm, etc)?
8. Is there any medical equipment in the area (first aid kit, AED, etc)?
9. How close is the nearest hospital?
10. What is the security/police presence in the area?
11. What are the people/crowd in the area doing?
12. What is the "vibe" of the crowd?
13. What events have just happened/are happening/will happen in the area?
14. What is the political climate in the area like?
15. What do you hear?
16. What to you smell?
17. What do you see?
18. What are the common reasons for people to be in the area?
19. Are people in the area dressed appropriately?
20. What kinds of things are people in the area carrying?
21. Is there anything that looks incongruous to the area?
22. Is everyone looking at the same thing/is anyone looking away from the action?
23. What kind of obstructions are in your area?
24. Are there warning systems (audio/visual) in the area?
25. Are you positioned to see as wide an angle of activity as possible?
26. Can you observe people then close your eyes and remember details about them?
27. Have you watched/read the local news today and noted anything of importance?
28. Does anyone in the crowd "stand out"?
29. Who are the dominant people in the crowd?
30. Who are the submissive people in the crowd?
31. Is people's body language appropriate for the situation?
32. Is anyone acting uncomfortable or suspicious in the crowd?
33. Can you identify areas of cover and concealment in your area?
34. Look up, what do you see?
35. If you had to run out of your area, could you?
36. If you had to hide in your area, where would you do so?
37. If you had to fight someone right now, would you be able to?
38. What sorts of items could be used for weapons in your area?
39. Are you carrying your EDC bag with appropriate tools and items?
40. Can you analyze people in the crowd and guess what their next actions will be?
41. Who in the crowd looks like they would be helpful?  Why do you think this (actions, things they have said, etc)?
42. Who in the crowd looks like they would be confrontational/aggressive?  Why do you think this (actions, things they have said, etc)?
43. What time is it and how does the area change at various times (when is rush hour, are people coming to or leaving work, etc)?
44. Are there any known problems in the area you are in (gang area, pick pocket area, etc)?
45. Look around and see if there are security cameras.
46. What are other factors in the area (animals present, an elevator that has been blocked off, someone with a security escort, etc)?
47. Are you regularly scanning the area instead of keeping all of your attention on your phone or the task at hand?
48. If you are in an area which is generally higher risk (at an ATM, in a dangerous neighborhood, etc) do you have someone with you to watch your back?
49. If you had to use your concealed pistol, what would be the tactical challenges in the area and how could you mitigate these?
50. Is your gut telling you something that you should pay attention to (an urge to leave the area immediately for example)?

The Five Levels of Situational Awareness

In order to be prepared for anything that might happen, you need to be situationally aware.  Now I know some folks who could have a robbery take place ten feet from them and they would have no idea, while others that you see on the news are so involved in their cell phones that they walk right in front of a train or something.  Hopefully most people are more aware of their surroundings than that.  There are five levels of situational awareness that you should be aware of (pun not really intended), in order to have a good idea of what is happening now and what could be happening in the future.

Picture this like a pyramid.  The first level, the base, is a global look at what is happening.  There are several sites that will tell you of every disaster currently happening in the world but that is a bit of overkill when you just need generalities.  The national and world news can fill you in on major happenings, from famine in Venezuela to threats from North Korea to solar flares which could toast your electronics.  If you take a bit of time to read the daily news you should be adequately informed about what is happening.

The next level up is regional news.  This sort of news usually falls into the weather category (like the Nor'easter scheduled to hit the east coast later today), or any other major event that can affect an entire region (like a refinery fire that may raise gas prices for a while in the region, or regional shortages of food which are quite rare but do happen).  Again. a good regional news source will inform you of any pending problems that should be on your radar.

The third level is state level.  What is happening in your state that should have your attention?  This could be anything from state epidemiologist reports on flu activity in your state, state hazards like a drought or wild fire report, changes to state laws that you should be aware of, and state activity that could impact you (ie: the state is budgeting more money for schools).

The fourth level is local news.  What is happening in your city or within a hundred miles of your area?  Things in your immediate area tend to have a more dramatic impact on you and your family than far-flung news.  Things you may need to know include the farm report if your local economy is heavily dependent on farming, crime news so you will be aware of a localized crime wave, information about the local school district, what restaurants were closed down by the health department, and what chain stores are slated for closure in your community.  Most community news will alert you to things that can impact your health, your money, your education, your safety, and other pertinent things in your life that you should either already be prepared for or need to add to your planning.

The fifth level, the top of the pyramid, is what is happening immediately around you.  This is kind of a big category but it includes any immediate threat to your income, big bills you will need to pay (like taxes coming up next month), how things are going at your job, what is happening with the security of your home (do you need a more robust security system installed?) and with general security in your neighborhood (you may hear on Next Door that a neighbor's home was burglarized).  How are your kids doing in school (including grade-wise, with their teachers, and any threats they may perceive), how road construction will affect getting out of your neighborhood, what that strange acting guy in front of you at the grocery store is doing, where the exits are at the government building in the event of an emergency, and whether you need an umbrella or sunscreen today.

On levels one through three, you are basically taking in information and making general decisions based on this information.  If there is a big storm brewing in Boston, you may want to change your travel plans but if you have nothing to do with Boston the situation won't impact you.

On levels four and five you may need to be more proactive and either seek out additional information or take steps to mitigate any problems you see headed your way (if the flu is getting worse consider getting a flu shot, wash your hands more often, and don't touch your face at all with your hands).  If you hear things aren't going well financially at your job, you may want to polish up your resume and start networking for a new job.  If the guy in line in front of you at the bank who has been acting odd now becomes even more erratic you may need to go into run-hide-fight mode.

The bottom line is to be aware of what is going on in your world, notice any significant changes, observe possible threats, and plan various courses of action based on possible outcomes.

March Challenge #17 Situational Awareness

Your challenge today it to pay attention.  Sounds simple doesn't it?  But situational awareness is much more than pulling yourself away from your cell phone occasionally.  By developing the skills of situational awareness, you will put yourself miles ahead of everyone else in a disaster situation.  Situational awareness is composed of a number of skills:

• Having an extensive and varied knowledge as it relates to where you are.  It's an infinitely long list to 'know everything' but to give you an idea of what you should learn consider these examples.  Just before the devastating tsunami ten years ago in Thailand, the people who were able to escape and run for the hills were the people who knew what the signs of an eminent tsunami were (rapid sea level change not related to the tide, huge waves, etc).  Everyone else was quite oblivious until the deadly waves started crashing on the beach.  In another example, you can tell city folks because they head for the mountains on a very windy days (trees are more likely to fall on you then) or run from wild animals like bears (you will look like prey to the bear and they will chase you).  Drilling down, locals know the risks of certain parts of town and are #1 more likely to avoid dangerous places and thus problems, or #2 know the area well enough, and be known well enough by the local gangs, to know where they can and can't go without problem (although the risk of being an innocent bystander during a drive by increases exponentially so most logical people will avoid such places all together).  And the camper who runs out of TP and uses leaves will either #1 know what poison ivy/poison oak looks like, or #2 learn quickly enough.  All knowledge is good knowledge but the more you know the more likely you are to be able to put your knowledge to good use during a disaster.
• Paying attention to what is happening in your surroundings.  Some people are simply oblivious most of the time which can make them easy victims for crime (like pick pockets or rapists) or can get them injured or killed (I've lost track of how many videos I've seen where people were so busy looking at their cell phones that they walked into fountains, onto railroad tracks, into traffic, etc).  Don't be that person.  Where ever you go you need to do a quick scan of your area and see what's going on.  Usually everything will look "normal" but if you see something out of the ordinary (like a pressure cooker sitting on the sidewalk in a busy city) you should probably take another look (not too closely in the case of the aforementioned incident).  Things you should consider: the weather, the day of the week and time, the general political climate, the recent news of the area, the type and age of the building, what the signage says, what, if anything, looks like it doesn't belong, etc.
• Paying attention to people.  The 'wild card' in most situations is people.  An empty building isn't going to "do anything" unless there is an earthquake or something.  A building full of people is a whole different animal.  Generally people will act in a predictable manner (actually this is usually only common in semi-rural areas with a close-knit, homogeneous, upper social-economic population), but in more and more situations these days, people can be hard to read.  The mentally ill, racially divisive areas, people on drugs, a high population of young men, areas that can inspire anger or violence (like bars and nightclubs), high stress situations, etc. can all lead to unexpected but not unpredictable violent outbursts.  While you always need to be on alert when you are around people, the more potential there is for people to have problems, the more alert you need to be to their expression, their tone of voice, the words their use, how they are carrying themselves, if they have any sort of weapon, etc.  You want to observe as much as possible in order to be able to formulate a plan of action if needed.
• Making plans for "what if".  The last task, when it comes to being situationally aware, is to always have a plan B, C, and D.  Plan A might be to hang out at a local bar with your buddies.  Plan B would be how to exit the building in a hurry (do you know where all the exits are and who/what is between you and the exits?).  Plan C would be how you could protect yourself in the event of an unruly customer or a fight (run, fight, or hide and the usual options).  Plan D would be a previously practiced team effort by you and your buddies to come out safely in the event of a disaster (everything from an earthquake to a major brawl).

Being situationally aware requires practice (you should practice observing your environment all the time).  By becoming more observant, blending what you observe with your general knowledge, and formulating "what if" plans, you will be way more aware, and way more likely to react appropriately, than the general public.